The Tide Hammer

Episode 05

Journey to Highever

16

NOV/11

Campaign Date: 30 Harvestmere, 930
On the open sea once again, the heroes find themselves leading a crew of able sailors and loyal followers as they work their way towards the city of Highever. At least for the moment, near everyone on board is able to forget the darkness of the world around them. To them, the open sea means freedom from the oppression and horror of the Dark Spawn.

The merriment came to an end when the Tide Hammer and its crew came upon a shipwrecked sloop bearing an uncanny resemblance to their own. Called the Last Sojourn, this ship was the same size and shape, had the same details and the same figurehead. The only thing that differentiated it from the Tide Hammer was the mass of chains that seemed to wrap around the hull. Despite spotting an ominous black spot approaching on the horizon, curiosity got the better of the heroes. Eager to learn more about their own ship, the heroes ordered the crew of the Tide Hammer to be on high alert as they anchored near the ship to investigate further. Braving the frigid waters of the Waking Sea, Fif, Stefan, Sun and Lors all jumped in and swam towards the broken and battered Last Sojourn.

Stefan and Lors explored the captain’s quarters, finding the captain’s chest, sealed airtight and submerged. After enough struggling, and a moment of true fear upon discovering the deceased captain’s skeleton still clung tightly to the chest, they managed to wrestle the chest free. Meanwhile, Sun found a crate of weapons and a mostly intact ballista which he managed to help pull aboard the Tide Hammer thanks to some cunning rope use and barked commands. Lastly, Fif braved the deepest of the waters to see if the Last Sojourn had the same mysterious door as the Tide Hammer. What he discovered was the source of the chains the wrapped around the ship, all leading to some sort of shadowy figure that couldn’t be made out in the murky waters. Unwilling to investigate further, and with the lure of gold and weapons left behind elsewhere on the ship, Fif abandoned his investigation and returned to the surface as did his companions.

What greeted them was not the cheers of an excited crew about to count their loot, but a fearful one. The black spot on the horizon had become a massive longship, wreathed in ominous black tendrils that seemed to pull it forward through the water. The Tide Hammer lifted anchor, turned around and billowed out its sails in an attempt to flee. Stefan barked commands and words of encouragement while Sun walked among the crew, making sure the orders were fulfilled and the crew stayed strong. Fif kept to the rigging, working the sails and ropes to keep the Tide Hammer moving as fast as possible. Although the ship had never sailed faster, the Dark Spawn monstrosity kept on their tail, and their situation worsened when their navigator Gilmont, previously injured in a battle with Dark Spawn suddenly grew ill.

Quick thinking, a wartime promotion of one of the sailors and a monumental effort on everyone’s part pulled the Tide Hammer ahead, and eventually free from the Dark Spawn ship. Relieved, exhausted and fearful, the heroes decided to recover and reward their crew before immediately setting off back towards Highever. This also gave the heroes the chance to count their loot from the Last Sojourn – a cache of masterwork dwarven weapons, a collection of glowstones, a captains log whose ink only appears in the light of a Dwarven brazier, and the key to the mysterious door in the hold of their ship. Upon recollecting the fate of the Last Sojourn and its lower hold, the heroes are reluctant to see what powerful force lays trapped beneath their ship.

They now approach Highever a bit more cautiously than before, eager to reach the city where they can continue to search for answers about the Bligth and their ship.